Monthly newsletter - June 2024
Monthly newsletter - June 2024
Who are the top 5 contributors and what are the movements of the leopards in Hoedspruit? Read below to find out!
A huge thank you to the incredible citizen scientists
I want to start by expressing my deepest gratitude to all the incredible reserves and citizen scientists – guides and residents alike – who have dedicated their time to collecting invaluable data. Your contributions are vital to our research!
Ready to discover the top 5 contributors who shared the highest number of unique leopard sightings, through both direct observations and camera traps, in the past 6 months? Look no further!
🥇Olifants West Nature Reserve: 252 sightings with 409 images
🥈Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate: 163 sightings with 180 images
🥉Kapama Game Reserve: 152 sightings with 237 images
In the 100s of images shared there is also:
🏅Klaserie Game Reserve: 83 sightings with 102 images
🏅Thornybush Game Reserve: 78 sightings with 112 images
Thank you all for your active participation in leopard research!
New maps showcase home ranges and movements
I have been busy creating some visuals – for the first time, I am sharing maps that showcase the movements and home ranges of many known leopards. These maps not only reveal how these territories overlap, who is where but also provide a clearer picture of the individuals involved. Get ready to put a name (or a code name!) to a face!
The leopards of the Rietspruit Game Reserve, Blue Canyon Conservancy, Raptors' View and Zandspruit Wildlife Estates
Mbilu is mostly based in Raptors’ View and Zandspruit but was briefly spotted in Blue Canyon in May. She still has a young cub in RV and is already back there.
Medupi (Mbilu’s daughter) has been exploring the area since she dispersed in November 2023 and after visiting Kapama, she is back on Blue Canyon.
The Bloubank male patrols on the Western section of the area and covers mainly the territories of Kudu Krip 2:3 and of Leadwood.
Raptors_LM0005 covers the Northern section and mainly covers the territories of Mbilu. He could be the father of Mbilu’s current cub.
The Leadwood male moved South after Raptors_LM0005 arrived at the end of 2023. He is now on Blue Canyon.
Mulhuri / Xivati covers the South Eastern section of the area and is the dominant male on Blue Canyon. He is probably the father of Kwetsi’s current cub. Kusile (son of Mbilu) has entered his territory but he will likely stay away.
The leopards of Kapama Game Reserve
Monzo's last sighting was in October 2023 and it seems his territory is slowing being taken over by Tlanga, born in the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate in 2020 and who dispersed in March 2023.
Hleketa has the biggest territory of all the males (19% of Kapama) and mainly overlaps with Nkelekele's territory.
Nkelekele has two youngsters - Kapama_LF0027 who is quite adventurous and Kapama_LM0021.
We can observe some males sneaking into Hleketa's territory but only on the edges. Nanakanzi's son (Kapama_LM0020) is still inside his mother's territory.
Both Lion Pan are siblings, hence the territory overlap. Lion Pan female has the biggest territory, covering 21% of the reserve.
The leopards of the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate, Air Force Base and Tshukudu Game Reserve
Ntsakelo’s home range is the biggest one as he is slowly dispersing from the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate. He went numerous time to Tshukudu, visited once Khaya Ndlovu and was spotted as well at La Bamba, in town in the middle of the night. As he has crossed the R40 multiple times, he is unfortunately at a higher risk of being hit by a vehicle. Hopefully, he will soon settle in a natural area with less human disturbance.
Rhulani is the most sighted female in Tshukudu and her territory has crossed Ntsakelo’s. There aren’t well known older males in Tshukudu but the leopards there are more skittish. Ntsakelo will most likely have challenging encounters there.
Mafu’s home range might be expanding to Pridelands & Boston as well but unfortunately no data are available there. He has never been reported in Kapama, suggesting that his territory is North East, encompassing the Air Force Base as well.
Tlanga dispersed in March 2023 from HWE and has now settled in Kapama where he is very relaxed and regularly seen by the guides.
Kulua & Dzaha have both only ever been seen inside HWE but the camera traps indicate they both exit the estate on the Eastern side regularly. Dzaha stays in the Eastern part of HWE only.